Exploring the politics of degrowth – first evidence from two cases of repair policies in Austria and Sweden

Pollex, Jan; Berker, Lars E.

Abstract

Amid escalating ecological crises and the limited effects of previous green growth approaches, degrowth has gained increasing attention, with researchers and activists debating various policies. However, implementation of such policies remains rare, as does research on these few examples. This highlights the need to examine the politics underlying such attempts to promote degrowth. This article explores national repair policies in Austria and Sweden as most likely cases of existing degrowth policies. It makes two key contributions. First, it applies the Advocacy Coalition Framework, using a classic policy analysis perspective to study degrowth policies. Second, it provides one of the first analyses of political dynamics in this context, identifying pragmatic degrowth coalitions that leverage diverse interpretations of repair policies to enable their implementation. This study discusses how incremental policy changes, driven by coalition-building efforts, can advance transformative policies, offering insights into the political processes required for implementing degrowth-oriented approaches.